“I needed a few minutes to process it.”
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has admitted that he “broke a promise” when delivering his half-time rallying cry to his players in their game against Luton.
Liverpool were 1-0 down and Anfield was looking pretty gloom thanks to Chiedozie Ogbene’s first half goal, and an array of missed chances from the home side that punctured the atmosphere.
Normally a home game against a team fighting relegation wouldn’t hold such significance, but given The Reds’ precarious one-point lead at the top of the table with Man City breathing down their necks, and an ever-growing list of injuries, the tension was on a knife-edge.
So bad was the injury situation, that several academy graduates were used in the match, Joe Gomez was used in left back, Caoimhin Kelleher was trusted in goal, and Harvey Elliot had to play in the front three with Mo Salah, Diogo Jota, and Darwin Nunez all unfit to play.
Jurgen Klopp “broke a promise” before Liverpool’s second half stormer against Luton.
Now this young squad, whom nine of which were under the age of 21, were facing an uphill battle, with the weight of a Premier League title race resting on their shoulders, and Klopp knew he had to do something – but it involved breaking a promise.
“Tonight is one of those nights where it is difficult to stop talking. I am so happy,” said Klopp after the game.
“We had to ignore the fact we were 1-0 down and use the things that are good and improve the counter-press. The second half was a thunderstorm. Wow.
“I will mention this game from now quite a few times. I promised my team a few months ago that I would never mention or use the Barcelona game as an example and I used it again today so I broke my promise.
“Just because before the game, it was kind of similar. Many players missing, stuff like this. The team that time ignored the fact who is missing and I want us to ignore the fact who is missing.
“That is difficult because the public got the whole knowledge of who is missing only tonight. It’s like…I needed a few minutes to process it when I got all the news.
“But from that moment on, when you know how you can deal with it and sort it for this game, it feels really good. That is what I wanted the boys to show.
“This is an example tonight. This is their Barcelona, now against Luton. A difficult situation, plenty of reasons to give up in moments: not tonight and I saw only a super group fighting.
“If you don’t limit yourself with bad thoughts, you can fly. And that’s what the boys did.”
The Barcelona game that Klopp was referring to was of course the famous Champions League night in Anfield back in 2019, when Liverpool were 3-0 down on aggregate and needed to beat a side that boasted the likes of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, and Philipe Coutinho, by four goals.
To make an uphill battle even steeper, they had to play the match without their star striker Mo Salah, or the injured Roberto Firmino, but they still managed to pull off the impossible, win 4-0, and go on to lift the European Cup.
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Related links:
- Wayne Rooney calls out the Man United players who were dancing after Liverpool hammering
- Liverpool’s strength in depth highlighted by impressive stat after Luton win
- Why Liverpool’s crucial Premier League tie with Luton is not on TV
